Member since January 2026
Erin Copelan is a Caregiving Support Specialist, speaker, and best-selling author of "Welcome to Caregiving: The Things Caregivers Never Talk About." With more than fifteen years as the sole caregiver for her husband, Jerry, Erin has lived alongside cancer, a liver transplant complicated by rare medical conditions, and the repeated return of disease. That long, layered journey shapes the grounded, compassionate voice she brings to her speaking and writing. (In 2026 we will be celebrating Jerry's 10 year transplant anniversary!)
Known for her honest and often humorous storytelling, Erin speaks about caregiving, burnout, and emotional resilience in a way that is grounded, relatable, and human. Her work helps audiences feel seen and genuinely connected, especially those quietly carrying the weight of caregiving without acknowledgment or support.
Erin has spoken for national healthcare, and continuing education audiences including Society for Transplant Social Workers, and works with caregiver organizations, healthcare systems, nonprofits, and professional groups seeking a non-clinical, lived-experience speaker on caregiving and family support. She enjoys in-person and virtual speaking engagements, podcast conversations, and guest writing opportunities.
Erin is passionate about helping caregivers move through burnout and overwhelm by focusing on presence, emotional awareness, and gentle movement. She lacked these tools at the beginning of her journey and learned them along the way. Now, they make all the difference in how she cares for herself while caring for those she loves.
Through her speaking work and Caregiver Archetype Quiz, Erin emphasizes that caregivers are not all the same. Different caregivers have different strengths, limits, communication styles, and emotional needs. (There’s no right way, there’s no wrong way—there’s only love.)
Erin is especially passionate about giving caregivers permission to feel more than one emotion at once: love and resentment, devotion and exhaustion, gratitude and grief. Helping caregivers trust themselves again, stay connected to who they are, and remember that their presence matters is the heart of her work.
“As long as it’s the day after we move, I’ll be fine.”
For months, that was my answer whenever people asked when Jerry was going to get his liver transplant. You don’t schedule a transplant the way you schedule a dental cleaning, and since we were also looking for a new home, it became my mantra. I said it fifty, maybe a hundred times, "As long as it’s the day after we move, I’ll be fine."
On July 18, 2016, the movers were unloading the truck into our new home, when I noticed my husband had disappeared... I found him in the backyard on the phone saying, "Right now? It's really not a good time... ." I felt chills run up and down my spine and asked him who he was talking to? "It's Karen at Cleveland Clinic, they have a liver for me but I'm telling her it's really not a good time."
I instantly snatched the phone from his ear, "Karen, it's Erin, how much time do we have?"
“I can give you fifteen minutes,” she said. “Then I have to move on to the next person on the list.”
Jerry and I sat on patio chairs in the baking July sun, the only two things officially off the truck at this point. Jerry worried about leaving me alone with the mess. I told him it was just boxes and I could handle boxes. But this liver was his.
I told the movers to forget everything I had told them when they arrived - just get everything off the truck and in the house. We made up the bed so I'd have a place to crash when I got home, settled in the cats, and headed to the hospital. We waited through the night to see if the organ was viable. At 7:00am the following morning they wheeled my beloved back for surgery.
It was the day after our move.
As a little girl, Erin never dreamed she’d become a published author or stand on a stage. Just reading aloud in class terrified her!
But caregiving changed everything.
After being in a primary caregiving role for years, Erin didn’t just feel overwhelmed; she felt severely depleted. Jerry and Erin used to joke that it took her twice as long to recover from his transplant as it took him. (Funny / not funny). The deeper truth? Over ten years later, Erin will tell you she’s still healing.
That truth is what lit the fuse.
Two years after Jerry’s transplant, Erin started writing every Sunday morning. When Jerry would ask what she was doing, she’d say, “I’m writing my book.” Yes, she found the writing therapeutic, but more than that, she couldn’t shake the feeling that other caregivers needed to know they weren’t alone. Today, she describes "Welcome to Caregiving" as the “You’re not alone” book.
The book launched as an Amazon best seller, and the following year, Erin was invited to speak at the Society for Transplant Social Workers’ national convention. The response confirmed what she already knew: caregivers and professionals alike are hungry for insight and tools that actually meet the real caregiving experience.
The audience feedback mirrored her standing ovation:
“Phenomenal presentation and such an important perspective. I took away ideas of things to ask in order to better support the caregivers of our patients.”
“SUPERB PRESENTER… and very sincere and moving presentation style!!”
“Perfect blend of useful information and storytelling.”
“I plan on bringing back loads of ideas on how best to help our families!!”
Since then, Erin has continued speaking and writing with one clear intention: to soften the caregiving journey. Why? Because it's all about love.
My weekly newsletter, out loud. Same honesty. Same humor. Just with my voice, a little extra riffing, and a laugh track because sometimes caregiving deserves one.
Listen Now
Erin’s best-selling book is an honest, deeply human read - often described as the “you’re not alone” book - that invites both laughter and tears from readers. Available in paperback, audiobook, and e-book.
Buy Now
This quick, insight-driven quiz identifies your caregiving archetype and offers personalized guidance for boundaries, communication, and long-term resilience - without asking you to become someone you’re not.
Let’s Do This“As long as it’s the day after we move, I’ll be fine.”
For months, that was my answer whenever people asked when Jerry was going to get his liver transplant. You don’t schedule a transplant the way you schedule a dental cleaning, and since we were also looking for a new home, it became my mantra. I said it fifty, maybe a hundred times, "As long as it’s the day after we move, I’ll be fine."
On July 18, 2016, the movers were unloading the truck into our new home, when I noticed my husband had disappeared... I found him in the backyard on the phone saying, "Right now? It's really not a good time... ." I felt chills run up and down my spine and asked him who he was talking to? "It's Karen at Cleveland Clinic, they have a liver for me but I'm telling her it's really not a good time."
I instantly snatched the phone from his ear, "Karen, it's Erin, how much time do we have?"
“I can give you fifteen minutes,” she said. “Then I have to move on to the next person on the list.”
Jerry and I sat on patio chairs in the baking July sun, the only two things officially off the truck at this point. Jerry worried about leaving me alone with the mess. I told him it was just boxes and I could handle boxes. But this liver was his.
I told the movers to forget everything I had told them when they arrived - just get everything off the truck and in the house. We made up the bed so I'd have a place to crash when I got home, settled in the cats, and headed to the hospital. We waited through the night to see if the organ was viable. At 7:00am the following morning they wheeled my beloved back for surgery.
It was the day after our move.
As a little girl, Erin never dreamed she’d become a published author or stand on a stage. Just reading aloud in class terrified her!
But caregiving changed everything.
After being in a primary caregiving role for years, Erin didn’t just feel overwhelmed; she felt severely depleted. Jerry and Erin used to joke that it took her twice as long to recover from his transplant as it took him. (Funny / not funny). The deeper truth? Over ten years later, Erin will tell you she’s still healing.
That truth is what lit the fuse.
Two years after Jerry’s transplant, Erin started writing every Sunday morning. When Jerry would ask what she was doing, she’d say, “I’m writing my book.” Yes, she found the writing therapeutic, but more than that, she couldn’t shake the feeling that other caregivers needed to know they weren’t alone. Today, she describes "Welcome to Caregiving" as the “You’re not alone” book.
The book launched as an Amazon best seller, and the following year, Erin was invited to speak at the Society for Transplant Social Workers’ national convention. The response confirmed what she already knew: caregivers and professionals alike are hungry for insight and tools that actually meet the real caregiving experience.
The audience feedback mirrored her standing ovation:
“Phenomenal presentation and such an important perspective. I took away ideas of things to ask in order to better support the caregivers of our patients.”
“SUPERB PRESENTER… and very sincere and moving presentation style!!”
“Perfect blend of useful information and storytelling.”
“I plan on bringing back loads of ideas on how best to help our families!!”
Since then, Erin has continued speaking and writing with one clear intention: to soften the caregiving journey. Why? Because it's all about love.
